Production of iPS cells (see Patent Literature 1) leads to a significant progress in the fields of regenerative medicine, cell remedy, tissue engineering, and cell engineering, and there is a greatly increased demand to evaluate statuses of cells or evaluate effects or influences of medicines and the like by using cells. In the fields of regenerative medicine and cell remedy, it is necessary to increase cells so as to produce cells, tissues, and organs. Thus, evaluating and managing a cell cycle is important to produce normal cells, tissues, and organs. In this case, it is assumed that a produced organ or the like is brought back to a human body, and thus a non-destructive, non-invasive, and unstained evaluation technique is demanded. It should be noted that the cell cycle is a cycle of one cell from birth by cell division to cell division.
Further, also in the case where treatment effectiveness of a medicine to a disease by using cells or tissues produced by tissue engineering or cell engineering is examined, it is very important to evaluate a cell cycle, which is an important element to know the status of a cell. In particular, in the case where a cytotoxic activity of anticancer drugs or the like is investigated, the evaluation of the cell cycle is important. Also in those examinations in vitro using cells or tissues, from the perspective of a change over time and an interaction between a medicine and other molecules, a non-destructive, non-invasive, and unstained evaluation technique is demanded.
Additionally, in the case where evaluation on the effects, influences, and treatment of medicines and the like is examined, there is also a demand to evaluate the status of an intracellular metabolism corresponding to the amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or the status of a microtubule as a cytoskeleton. In particular, to evaluate a cytotoxic activity of anticancer drugs or the like, it is important to evaluate the stats of an intracellular metabolism or the status of a cytoskeleton.
As a cell cycle evaluation method, an evaluating method by staining DNA and determining a quantity of DNA by flow cytometry, and flow cytometry or an imaging technique using antibodies against molecules specifically expressed in a cell cycle are widely used. In addition thereto, a redox dye (Cell clock: biocolor) that specifically dyes a cell cycle or a fluorescent protein expression system using proteins that specifically express in a cell cycle (see Non-patent Literature 1) are achieved. As a method of evaluating the stats of an intracellular metabolism or the status of a cytoskeleton, similarly, a technique using fluorescent substance is also generally used. As a technique capable of evaluating a cell cycle in an unstained manner, a technique of imaging a cell over time and grasping nuclear division from the form of a nucleus is proposed (see Patent Literature 2).